Category: Movie Reviews

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) | REVIEW

Michael Keaton as the titular character in Tim Burton’s BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Tim Burton — Screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar — Story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Seth Grahame-Smith

It has been thirty-six years since Tim Burton — from writing by Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren, and Larry Wilson — wowed audiences with his dark horror-comedy film about the afterlife, Beetlejuice. A lot has happened since then, for instance, Michael Keaton — the actor portraying the film’s zany titular character — became a household name and Batman (and Birdman!) himself, and Burton’s career rose and fell as he navigated the studio system with varying success. Despite having struggled critically over more than the last decade, Tim Burton remains an auteur with a distinct style and, as luck would have it, a new generation has embraced it following his Netflix hit Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega. This welcomed career resurgence has now led to the long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which welcomes back most (but not all) of the principal original cast. And, although the film isn’t quite as good or instantly iconic as the original film, Burton’s long-anticipated sequel has the right energy and sense of style to make it a thoroughly good time, despite how messy it sometimes feels.

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Rebel Ridge (2024) | REVIEW

Aaron Pierre in Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge — PHOTO: Netflix (Still image from trailer).

Directed by Jeremy Saulnier — Screenplay by Jeremy Saulnier.

Over the course of more than a decade, Rebel Ridge writer-editor-director Jeremy Saulnier (who, even, sometimes serves as cinematographer on some of his other projects) has made a name for himself as a promising filmmaker beloved by many cinephiles for his gripping thrillers such as Green Room and Blue Ruin, both of which I am a huge fan of. In 2018, Netflix released his cold Alaska-set thriller Hold the Dark to mixed-to-positive reviews, but the film did not become the critical darling that his aforementioned color-coded thrillers, so to speak, are. With Rebel Ridge, Saulnier has given it another go with a Netflix release. Rebel Ridge, frankly, feels like a return to form. It is a sharp and intense thriller that hits the sweet spot, just like Saulnier’s best films have done in the past.

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Mothers’ Instinct (2024) | REVIEW

Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain in Benoît Delhomme’s Mothers’ Instinct — PHOTO: Neon (Still image from trailer).

Directed by Benoît Delhomme — Screenplay by Sarah Conradt.

Based on the novel Derrière la haine from author Barbara Abel (and a remake of the 2018 Olivier Masset-Depasse adaptation), Benoît Delhomme’s Mothers’ Instinct tells the story of two 1960s American housewives and mothers, Celine (played by Anne Hathaway) and Alice (played by Jessica Chastain). After Celine’s son tragically died and Alice was too late to stop it from happening, Celine and Alice become distant, and, following Celine’s stay away from the suburbs that she called her home, Alice notices a change in her neighbor, who starts to become close with Alice’s son. As strange things start to happen, Alice begins to suspect that her grieving neighbor has cruel intentions.

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The Crow (2024) | REVIEW

Bill Skarsgård as Eric in Rupert Sanders’ THE CROW — PHOTO: LIONSGATE (Still image from trailer).

Directed by Rupert Sanders (Ghost in the Shell) — Screenplay by Zach Baylin (King Richard) and William Schneider.

It has been a long time coming, but, now, 30 years after the release of 1994’s The Crow — the original Alex Proyas’ film adaptation of James O’Barr’s iconic comic book series of the same name — a new film bears its title. The original film has a tragic reputation, as its star Brandon Lee was shot and fatally wounded by a prop gun while shooting the film. The original film went on to achieve cult status, Lee’s portrayal is similarly iconic, but, despite attempts to continue the franchise, it never really again got off on the right foot as it was followed by multiple critically derided sequels and a canceled series. The failed productions of potential future films would be infamous and often referred to as ‘cursed’ as directors, actors, and studios always failed to get a reboot off the ground despite actors like Mark Wahlberg, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Jason Momoa, and Alexander Skarsgård having been attached or rumored for the principal lead role over the years. Despite the infamous development hell, a reboot or reimagining of The Crow is finally here from Ghost in the Shell (2017) director Rupert Sanders and it stars, how about that, Alexander’s brother Bill Skarsgård, of It-fame. Unfortunately, this new attempt at telling this story of vengeance and lost love isn’t, ultimately, very good, as the latest production only really kicks into high gear late in the film.

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Sanctuary (2023) | REVIEW

(L-R) Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott in Zachary Wigon’s SANCTUARY — PHOTO: Neon (Still image from trailers)..

Directed by Zachary Wigon — Screenplay by Micah Bloomberg.

Sanctuary is a dark comedy and psychosexual thriller from film critic-turned-director Zachary Wigon. Released in 2023, following an initial premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, the film follows Hal (played by Christopher Abbott), the insecure presumptive heir to his late father’s wealthy company, as well as Rebecca (played by Margaret Qualley), who Hal has hired to be his dominatrix. During one of their sessions, Hal intimates his decision to end their mutually beneficial relationship, as he is now supposed to take on bigger responsibilities as the figurehead of a major company. She is clearly offended by the development and is considering leaving. However, instead, she desires to launch into a go-for-broke attempt at blackmail.

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Blink Twice (2024) | REVIEW

(L-R) Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum in Zoë Kravitz’s BLINK TWICE — PHOTO: Amazon MGM Studios / Warners Bros. International (Still image from the trailers).

Directed by Zoë Kravitz — Screenplay by Zoë Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum.

When I saw the directorial feature debut from actress-turned-filmmaker Zoë Kravitz, Blink Twice, the other night, the very last thing on the movie theater screen prior to the film starting was a relatively long statement meant to function as a trigger warning for the audience to prepare them for the potentially distressing themes and violence discussed and depicted in the film. Before I had sat down to watch the film, I had noticed that said trigger warning had gone viral on social media for how rare it is for a new release to feature such a warning in addition to the MPA rating. It’s certainly a modern addition, which is befitting of this film, as it is a very modern #MeToo-psychological thriller that mixes elements from so many recent films, such as Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, Jordan Peele’s Get Out, and, perhaps even, Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion. Though I, ultimately, thought the film was a relatively good directorial debut, I only really feel that it is as good or better than the first of those three films, with it not really holding a candle to the remaining two. 

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Priscilla (2023) | REVIEW

Cailee Spaeny as the title character in Sofia Coppola’s PRISCILLA — PHOTO: A24 (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Sofia Coppola — Screenplay by Sofia Coppola.

Like I suspect many have and will, I found it difficult to watch this film without thinking about the Baz Luhrmann film, Elvis, which was released more than a year prior to this film’s release. Really, though they both feature Elvis and Priscilla, they couldn’t be more different. It’s not just that Elvis is a popular blockbuster from a major studio, while Priscillla was released with much less fanfare by an indie studio. To add to that, while Elvis follows the well-worn music biopic formula albeit with a distinctive kinetic and dizzying visual style, Priscilla is a much more muted film with wildly different aims and approaches to the story of one of the most famous couples in American history.

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Alien: Romulus (2024) | REVIEW

Cailee Spaeny as Rain face-to-face with a Xenomorph in Fede Alvarez’s ALIEN: ROMULUS — PHOTO: Disney / 20th Century Studios.

Directed by Fede Alvarez — Screenplay by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues.

The Alien franchise can mean a lot of different things depending on the person you ask. For some, Alien, due to the original Ridley Scott 1979 classic, is Jaws (or a haunted house horror movie) set in space. Others think more fondly of James Cameron’s arguably equally iconic sequel, Aliens, which injected Scott’s blue-collar space-set horror flick with action adrenalin and a militaristic focus, while still keeping its key distrust of corporations at the heart of the film. I wonder if the subsequent divisive-to-middling sequels and spin-offs only further complicated the core audience’s understanding of what an Alien film is supposed to be. When Ridley Scott returned to shepherd the franchise and meld it with some of the ideas of his Blade Runner film in both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, they, too, divided opinion. While some embraced Prometheus‘ ambitious ideas and a key performance, others rejected them wholesale, perhaps because it wasn’t enough of an Alien film or for its specific answers (or lack thereof) as a prequel film, though I acknowledge that some may feel that to be an oversimplification of people’s problems with it. In any case, Scott responded with Alien: Covenant, which continued the overarching narrative started in Prometheus, but also, at the same time, sometimes felt like an effort to compromise and satisfy those that felt Prometheus was too different. The naysayers weren’t won over by Alien: Covenant, which, I contend, is actually an extremely underappreciated film, and the film was a box office disappointment. Seven years later, we now have the first Alien film since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox titled Alien: Romulus, which is a solid and suspenseful horror throwback. However, truth be told, it is also maybe a little bit too safe of a film given the big choices and risks that directors like Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and David Fincher have taken over the years.

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Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) | REVIEW

Deadpool looking up at the Wolverine in Shawn Levy’s DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE — PHOTO: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Directed by Shawn Levy (Free Guy; The Adam Project) — Screenplay by Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Shawn Levy.

Later this year, it’ll have been 7 years since Disney’s acquisition of Fox was announced. Included in the Fox acquisition were its assets including ‘their’ portion of Marvel characters, which had long been unable to be a part of Disney’s immensely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe of stories. I think a lot of fans out there will have, at that time, thought that years later they would have all been integrated into the Disney-Marvel-connected universe of live-action films, but, in actuality, it’s been quite slow. Certain characters have popped up in relatively insignificant ways, the classic X-Men theme song has played once or twice, and, sure, Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) did have some non-committal fun with the characters that Marvel fans have been desperate to have alongside the Avengers. Now, though, a significant part of that wait is over. Shawn Levy’s Deadpool and Wolverine is the first Marvel Studios film to be explicitly about a Marvel-Fox character and his integration into Marvel Studios. And, as if that wasn’t enough, it’s the one character that is the least audience-safe Disney character of them all: Deadpool, who is known for his R-rated violence and crude humor. Going into this film the big question for many fans was whether or not Disney, through Marvel Studios, would allow Deadpool to actually be the character that fans have come to know and love. The answer, which I can now give after having seen the much-anticipated film, is a resounding ‘yes.’

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Twisters (2024) | REVIEW

(L-R) Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, and Glen Powell in TWISTERS — PHOTO: Universal Pictures / Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung — Screenplay by Mark L. Smith — Story by Joseph Kosinski.

Reportedly, one of the first (if not actually the first) films to be released on the DVD format was Jan De Bont’s disaster classic Twister. The Dutch cinematographer-turned-film director delivered a genuine hit about a fear of the uncontrollable power of Mother Nature, and, now twenty-eight years later, it finally has a sequel. Twisters is one of this year’s big summer movie releases, and it has somewhat of an unlikely filmmaker in the director’s chair. Twisters has been made by the award-winning and critically acclaimed director of the American Dream/immigration film titled Minari, Lee Isaac Chung. Though perhaps a surprising choice of filmmaker, rest assured that the end product more than lives up to the original and that he has done his best to infuse the film with a human story at the center so that it isn’t all about CGI tornados.

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